Conventionally, there has been studied to blend a softening agent to a detergent for the purpose of preventing the loss of softness to have a stiff feel of the washed fibrous manufactured article due to the detachment of a fiber treating agent, deposition of salts or the like. As a softening agent for giving softening ability to the feel of the fibrous manufactured article by the deposition of the softening agent on the fiber surface, there has been conventionally used a clay material such as smectite (for instance, JP-A-Sho-49-85102); a cationic surfactant such as a dialkyl-type quaternary ammonium salt (for instance, Technical Publication Shuchi and Kanyo Gijutsu Shu (Clothes Powder Detergent: Japanese Patent Office, published on Mar. 26, 1998)); a silicone such as poly(dimethyl siloxane) (for instance, JP-A-2002-249799); and the like. However, these softening agents did not give sufficient softening effects to the detergent.
In recent years, studies have been made on a method of enhancing softening effects of a clay mineral from the viewpoint of easiness in formulation, environmental issue and the like. For instance, there have been known a combined use of bentonite and a pentaerythritol compound (for instance, JP-A-Hei-5-140869), a combined use of a clay mineral and an aggregating agent (for instance, JP-A-2002-541342), a combined use of bentonite and a soluble potassium salt (for instance, JP-A-Hei 8-506843, and Technical Publication Shuchi and Kanyo Gijutsu Shu (Clothes Powder Detergent: Japanese Patent Office, published on Mar. 26, 1998)), and the like. However, there has not yet attained to give a softening ability in the washing process.